Sgt. Adam Zimmerman coaches Afghan National Army Staff Sgt. Assadullah Abdul Saleem on proper 9mm firing techniques during a weapons familiarization class at the Combined Security Transition Command, Afghanistan, Sept. 18, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Mike Miranda Iraqi Forces Prepare To Take Control -- BBC
In a vast hangar workshop on this sprawling base on the flat plains north of Baghdad, the din of hammering, hissing, clanking and shouting is constant and deafening.
Teams of mechanics are setting about dozens of broken-down former US army Humvees.
Four hundred of the ubiquitous transport workhorses - now obsolescent for the US military - are being overhauled, repaired or completely rebuilt every month, as part of a programme that will see more than 8,000 handed over to the Iraqi army and police by next year.
The vast bulk of the skilled workforce, more than 500 strong, are Iraqis.
The finishing touch to the revamped Humvees is a smart new coat of paint - beige for the army, white for the police - and then the emblazoning of the Iraqi national flag on the vehicle door.
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My Comment: It will take years to rebuild an effective Iraqi Army .... but this is a good start.